Technology marketing and sales expenses to increase

Framingham, Mass.—IDC’s Executive Advisory Group forecasts an 8% increase in the average technology marketing budget and a 9% increase for the average sales budget this year.

These predictions are included in two upcoming reports—IDC’s “2007 CMO Tech Marketing Barometer” and “2007 Tech Sales Barometer”—due out in April.

The research company said the projected budget increases are the largest it has forecast in the five years it has been analyzing sales and marketing trends. It added that the latest forecast portends further pressure on the marketing and sales functions for cost control and productivity increases.

“Every dollar of revenue is getting more expensive for vendors to earn,” said Rich Vancil, VP at IDC’s Executive Advisory Group, in a statement. “Our analysis shows that many of the cost-reduction opportunities lie at the intersection of marketing and sales within large, global IT vendor organizations, where there are often redundant marketing processes and people across multiple product lines and regions.”